


Hold My Girl

by OfMonstersAndWerewolves



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Brief mention of Tilly's mental health issues, F/F, Fluff, Mental Health Issues, Songfic, although I'm not sure whether it's actually classed as one or not, since I only actually reference one lyric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 23:25:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16105961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfMonstersAndWerewolves/pseuds/OfMonstersAndWerewolves
Summary: Tilly and Margot come back from a date. Spotting Rogers' guitar, Margot ponders an idea.Featuring cute banter, giggling, an apparently vengeful kitchen stool and some George Ezra.





	Hold My Girl

**Author's Note:**

> So this is another cute Tilly and Margot fic. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also, Disclaimer just to be safe: I don't own George Ezra's song 'Hold My Girl'

“Detective-?”

The door was inched open as the young woman and her date crept into the apartment, Tilly scanning the hallway for any signs of the other occupant. 

“Hellooooo?”, she queried to the empty hallway. Her coat was currently hanging on the banister of the stairs where she’d forgot to pick it up from and the curtains had been left wide open in her haste that morning, so the dim light streaming through the window was somewhat illuminating the parts of the flat she could see. Once she was sure there was no one else with them, she hung her set of keys on one of the bare coat hooks and gestured to Margot to follow her through into the kitchen. Margot did so, but not before casually taking off her jacket and placing it on the last remaining coat hook.

“Knew it. Still doing detective work.” Tilly said, more to herself than Margot as she swung her rucksack on to the table, beside her drawing book. “Have to tell him about my three strikes in a row tomorrow then,” she said, beaming.

Margot stood at the front of the table, leaning forward towards Tilly, with her hands on its polished surface to support her, “and you won both games too.”

“Ah, not giving myself that much credit. You didn’t have the bumpers up” Tilly reminded her.

When Tilly had told her she’d never been bowling before on their date prior to this one, Margot had asked if she could decide their next date and had gone straight to the local bowling alley afterwards to book a couple of games for them.

“I told you, neither did I when I first started as a kid. I wouldn’t knock the bumpers. Why are you giggli-oh yeah.”

Tilly was right this moment trying and failing to stifle a giggle, brought on by the reminder of Margot’s first bowling session as a young child, of which she had told the story about it to her and Tilly had subsequently not stopped giggling at it ever since. “I’m sorry. The image of you,” Tilly tried to say, “sliding along the lane”. Tilly tried to stifle it again, closing her mouth and dropping her gaze in the hope that her grin wouldn’t manifest itself into a fit of giggles once more.

“I so regret telling you that story now,” Margot sighed lightly, as a smile slowly spread across her face. 

Tilly, getting control of her giggling, twisted her face into a mock pout, causing Margot to roll her eyes affectionately, her gaze falling on the book next to Tilly’s bag.

“Did you finish your drawing from the other day?”- she nodded towards the drawing pad – “I’m no art expert but it was coming along pretty well” 

“Yeah I have, here,” she opened the drawing pad on a page with a sketch of a rabbit she’d spotted the other day, sliding the book along so it was facing Margot.

“Wish I was as brilliant as this. I can’t draw to save my life.”

“Do you really think I’m that good?”, Tilly asked softly.

“Of course!” came Margot’s enthusiastic reply, “You’ve got a talent. You should be winning awards.”

“Actually, it’s more like a whole lot of practise. But, thanks” Tilly smiled. “Ever since I can remember I would draw and paint. No matter what kind of day it is, it’s always there to, well -”she paused momentarily “- help pull me back down to earth.”

Margot looked up from the book at her, knowingly. She still had a lot to learn about Tilly’s struggles. She’d done some research when she’d had the chance and they’d talked about it a few times, starting first with some of the things that more obviously impacted her. Margot would listen to her intently, but it was often hard for Tilly to open up about it and she had admitted, several days ago now, that it left her feeling ashamed of herself. Margot had assured her at the time that it wasn’t something to feel shame over and that, though she was anything but an expert in these things, in fact she was very new to it, she had confidence in Tilly that she’d be able to get it under control. Margot was patient with her and would listen to what she had to say, trying not to force her into telling her anything she wasn’t quite ready to mention just yet. They’d managed to come up with some suggestions together too and both of them knew they’d have to work together if they wanted to try and make it work.

“Right, I fancy a sit down on something comfier,” Tilly insisted, interrupting Margot’s train of thought, “Come on!”

Grinning, she began to move towards the door so they could both go into the living room. This should have been an easy and simple thing, except one of the kitchen stools clearly had other ideas as one of its legs collided with her foot. Margot managed to reach out and grab her to stop her from falling to the floor, and helped Tilly lift herself up, cursing.

“Argh, that’s the third bloody time I’ve done that!”

“You ok?”

“I think so” she answered, her hands gripping Margot’s arms as she steadied herself, “That chair has it in for me, I swear!”

She looked up at Margot’s face as she held her and, as their eyes met, she blushed. She’d have been nervous to admit it for fear of rejection, but she liked being this close to her. It gave her comfort to look into those emerald eyes, knowing that their owner saw her for who she was and who acknowledged that Tilly did, in fact, exist. She briefly glanced down to Margot’s lips and then their gaze fell away from each other as embarrassment took a hold of the two of them, and their hold on each other loosened, until the only things touching were their palms. 

Holding hands, they walked through into the living room, but not before Tilly gave a two fingered gesture to the kitchen stool.

Tilly leapt over the sofa arm, landed on the soft fabric and turned on the lamp on the table beside the adjacent wall. Margot moved round to sit on the other side of her as she looked around the room. It wasn’t particularly spacious, but for one or two people it was more than enough. Not too much decoration either – kind of minimalist in fact. Just as they were getting comfier, Tilly’s eyes lit up suddenly.

“Ooo, drinks!” Tilly remembered, getting up again from the sofa as she asked, “Want anything?”

“Just some water’ll do” Margot replied, “I don’t think Roni’d appreciate me taking a day off for a hangover” 

A hand shot out from the kitchen in the form of a thumbs up, as an indication her request had been noted.

Margot heard the kettle click on and begin to boil as she looked around the room again, in that awkward way you do when you’re in an unfamiliar home you’ve never been in before and you’re not quite sure what to do with yourself. She started to daydream a little about the day’s events with Tilly, as well as the text she’d gotten from her mum teasing her about whether they’d kissed yet. As she pondered to herself how best to get back at her mum for embarrassing her, she flittered her eyes up and her gaze fell on one corner of the room where she noticed, for the first time, a guitar case propped up against the wall, barely visible behind the TV cabinet. She continued to look at it for a few moments, contemplating to herself, before an idea sprung up in her head and compelled her to stand up and move in the direction of the guitar to get a better look.

But just as she neared it, Tilly walked back in to the living room, jabbering on about how Rogers must have eaten the tray of chocolates she still thought they’d had whilst carrying a cup of tea for herself and a glass of water for Margot, as well as an unopened packet of biscuits hanging precariously between her fingers. Margot turned around as she came in. 

“He can’t blame me for eating the last one this time”. She attempted to close the door with her foot behind her and dropped the biscuits onto the coffee table in front of her, as Margot walked over and sat back down on the sofa. “Anything interesting in that corner?” 

Margot took the glass from Tilly as she answered, “Oh, I was just looking at his guitar” – she turned her head round to look at it again briefly before looking at Tilly once more – “the case anyway. Do you know if he plays often?”

“Hmm, I don’t know.” Then she caught the look on Margot’s face, “Do you play?”

“Yeah I do, I’ve been practising ever since I was a kid.”

Tilly cocked her head to one side and smiled out of the corner of her mouth. “You didn’t have any issues with your first guitar lesson, did you?” She winked at her.

“No, I- ,“ she picked up a cushion from beside her and lightly threw it at Tilly’s knees. “didn’t.”

“Careful, I’ll spill me tea. I don’t want to stain the sofa.”

“Does tea stain sofa’s?”

“Well I’m not going to risk it” 

“Oh look-look I have my own mug”, she said ecstatically, as she turned the mug around in her hand to show Margot and nearly spilled its contents anyway in the process. “Detective Rogers bought it me.”

Margot leaned in to have a closer look. She was just about to comment on it when Tilly asked, “Do you want to see it? The guitar I mean.”

Instead of waiting for an answer, Tilly placed her tea onto the nearby table, went over to where the guitar stood, picked it up, maneuvered it carefully out from behind the TV and sat back down with it in her arms, before placing it down onto the floor in front of them.

Margot carefully opened the case to find a polished acoustic guitar, it’s surface shimmering in the light of the lamp. It’s orange coat darkened around the edges like hers and, by the looks of things, Margot got the distinct impression that the instrument probably didn’t get used as much as its owner might want it to. “Nice”

“Can-can you play something?” Tilly asked, timidly.

In truth Margot had intended on asking her if she could. “Won’t Detective Rogers mind?”

A wide grin formed on Tilly’s face then, a sight that always made Margot’s heart flutter. “Not if he doesn’t know”

“Weren’t you worried about staining his sofa a minute ago?” 

Tilly shrugged. “I trust you with his guitar, though”

“Well, there is one I’ve been trying to learn off by heart – I’m usually better with the sheet music with me,” she replied “and, well I had planned to share it with you later but… I’ll do it now if you want.”

Tilly watched as Margot opened the case, while she ecstatically tapped at her mug and repositioned herself on the sofa so she now leant forward slightly with her legs crossed. Her full attention would be on her… girlfriend? Were they girlfriends yet? Her ex had been a friend and had just asked her. Would she have to ask her? Why hadn’t Margot asked her yet? Was she going too fast with this? The guitar was now firmly in place over Margot’s lap. Only she paused for a second, as her eyebrows furrowed as she searched the guitar case.

“Does he play without a plectrum?” This time it was Tilly’s turn to be confused. “Sorry, guitar pick”

“Ooh, yeah, I think there’s one… ” - she stood up and grabbed a small, teardrop shaped piece of plastic from one of the bookshelves, - “this it?”

“Thanks,” Margot took the plectrum from her hand.

She began to strum along the strings of the guitar with her pick. It was light and each movement of her wrists was delicate, the chords - she was sure that’s what they were called – seemed to exude a calmness to Tilly. Then the singing started.

Her voice, soft and gentle as she sang, began to evoke in Tilly a feeling of ease, as though she was being assured that everything would turn out alright in the end; a calming effect that engulfed her like a flood. In truth she hadn’t really been listening to the actual lyrics as such, so captivated by the strumming and the singing. 

So as the chorus came round again the words danced around her head. ‘Give me a minute to hold my girl’ she thought. Was this Margot’s way of asking her? Was she Margot’s girl? She’d never been called ‘my girl’ before… or had she? 

An image began to form in her head as she listened intently, one of the two of them watching a sunset on the side of a hill, holding hands together as the orange sky above them merged into the stars of the encroaching darkness of the night. Margot was playing her guitar… no, wait… not a guitar, but… something else… a – lute, perhaps?... is that what they’re called?... Why would she be playing a lute? Were they even still a thing?

“Tilly?”

There was a castle in the valley below them. A castle? Why was she imagining them seeing a castle? Oh wait, actually she’d read about some of the castles they had in Europe in some of those books they’d brought back from the bookstore about places she wanted to visit. Yeah, yeah that must be it.

“…Til?”

Tilly blinked rapidly and looked up as she realised Margot was no longer singing and the guitar lay, silent, on her lap. She’d been so mesmerised she’d not realised. Margot looked a little deflated.

“I’m so sorry, I-I must have zoned out” A dejected Margot swallowed, something that Tilly noticed and, so as not to give her date the wrong impression, she proceeded to blabber out an explanation in mild panic. “Oh, I was listening! I was listening so much. I guess I got lost in it.” She chuckled mildly, “In fact, you have a beautiful voice and I could listen to you sing to me forever if that were possible-.” Then she stopped and blushed, her eyes widening as she realised what she’d just said. 

Hers weren’t the only cheeks reddening. “Thanks…”

Margot placed the guitar back in its case and moved it temporarily away from them. After somewhat of an awkward silence of neither party quite knowing how to continue, the quiet was interrupted by a small voice, “Til?”

“Sorry, I won’t call you that if you don’t want me to,” Margot responded.

“No, no I really want you to!”, Tilly exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically she thought, “I mean, I like it” Before another silence could fall, Tilly continued. “I’ve not heard that song,” she stated, “Who sang it?”

“ ‘Hold My Girl’ by George Ezra. He’s British like you. I visited briefly on my travels, it’s actually where I got that Alice in Wonderland book from. Bought it in a book store in Nottingham after I’d visited Sherwood Forest”. There was a brief pause then, before the young woman continued. “You know, I heard a lot of music on my travels from different cultures. Beautiful pieces of music and they always blew me away. Certainly had better singers-“

“I loved your singing! I loved all of it”

“Yeah, but I probably could have done it much better had I waited another week or so.” Margot remarked, nonchalantly lifting her arm up onto the back of the sofa.

“Well I liked it” Tilly said softly, smiling to herself. She hesitantly started to move closer to Margot and made herself comfier by her side. “You didn’t need a song to ask me though”

Margot blushed, her left arm tentatively moving to rest around Tilly. 

Tilly rested her head against Margot, her arms wrapped around her waist and her legs tucked up beneath her on the sofa. She felt Margot’s chest rise and fall beneath her as they laid there together, sprawled in each other’s arms. Margot reached over and entwined her other hand with Tilly’s own, eliciting a smile to form on her face as she felt the comfort of Margot’s fingers caressing the back of her hand and the softness of her breath on the back of her head. She didn’t ever want to let go. As far as she was concerned she could have stayed like that forever, embraced in Margot’s warmth, her fears and worries dissipating into nothing. Tilly could feel herself drifting off into sleep and before long the two of them had fallen asleep, oblivious to the world around them.

* * *

“Tilly?” The voice broke the silence of the apartment as a somewhat dishevelled Rogers kicked off his shoes as he came through into the hallway, taken aback that he hadn’t been hounded yet by Tilly chattering on about how her date with Margot had gone. Had something gone wrong? He’d had a long day and right now he was yearning for the comfort of his bed, but he’d be more than willing to let her talk to him about it if she needed to. He called her again and took off his jacket, intending to put it back on one of the hooks before noticing for the first time the unfamiliar jacket next to Tilly’s keys. He smiled as he put two and two together, realising it probably belonged to the young bar worker of whom Tilly had become so enamoured by. To such an extent she’d clearly brought her home. He quietly walked through into the kitchen and placed his jacket on the back of one of the stools, which he tucked back under the table, gazing at the still open drawing book as he did so. As he walked back around it and placed his phone on the nearby countertop, he noticed the living room door was slightly ajar and walked over to it. He peeked through. The light from the lamp illuminated the faces of the sleeping girls, wrapped up together on the sofa. He also spotted his guitar on the floor, thankfully far enough away from their feet so they weren’t likely to accidentally step on it when they awoke. He’d have to remind her about the ‘no shoes on in the apartment’ rule again tomorrow. For now, he closed the door again to give the two of them some privacy.

Well, he thought, looks like something had actually gone quite right.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> This one has a lot of dialogue I think, or there seemed to be more than my previous ones. It is slightly longer in general though as well.
> 
> One of the things that's quite challenging about Curious Archer, and many OUAT ships in general, is that because of their cursed personas, the characters are all subtly different depending on whether it's before, during or after the curse(s) in a way that's more than just development that happens anyway, if that makes sense. It's challenging but it's fun. Though I think I do prefer writing Alice and Robin slightly more than I do Tilly and Margot.
> 
> I think my next fic is going to take place pre-curse and involve their first kiss.


End file.
